ipl-logo

Essay On Minimum Legal Drinking Age

1257 Words6 Pages

Minimum Legal Drinking Age in US too high?
In the US, the Minimum Legal Drinking Age twenty-one has been a highly debated matter for years, because of various contributing factors. Whereas several individual states claim that the beginning of adulthood, at eighteen, is an appropriate age for alcohol consumption, one must also take in account that underage drinking increases the fatality rate of alcohol-related accidents and criminal behavior, but also affects the brain of a developing adolescent making the group more likely to become alcoholists.
The establishment of the US Minimum Drinking Age (MLDA) dates back to the year 1984 where President Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act on July 17 firstly unifying and raising the drinking age to 21 in all 50 states. Its goal is it to effectively combat drunken driving. According to the law any state that would lower the MLDA to eighteen will face a 10% shortcut of federal funding. However since …show more content…

Health awareness campaigns for example are a fantastic way to get informed. While alcohol education programs that advocate abstinence have been proven ineffective, interactive education programs have had greater success in changing one’s drinking habit as can be found in a study from New Zealand. Another aspect are the laws. The US needs stronger regulations for ID checks to prevent minors to enter clubs where drinks are served.
To conclude, alcohol usage before the age of 21 has a variety of negative effects on adolescents, since their body handles it differently leading to a destructive behavior and a higher risk of accidents with fatalities. It is simply irresponsible. Furthermore it lowers one’s academic performance which is of utmost importance for an adolescent. Taking everything from above into account the United States of America should not lower the current Minimum Legal Drinking Age to

Show More
Related
722 Words | 3 Pages

SUMMARY: In the article, “ The Minimum Legal Drinking Age” written by Traci L Toomey, Carolyn Rosenfeld, and Alexander C. Wagenaar in Alcohol Health & Research World, the reasoning behind the why the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) is 21 is addressed. Till this day similar claims that were used to lower the MLDA many years ago are being applied. Regardless of the continuing debate about the MLDA studies show the effectiveness of a higher MLDA in averting alcohol related deaths and injuries within the youth. The lowering of the MLDA resulted in rates of injuries and deaths increasing.

Read More
1304 Words | 6 Pages

Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) laws specify the age of when a person can buy or publicly drink alcohol legally. In 1984, the minimum legal drinking age was raised to twenty-one. Many college students attend parties where alcohol is present. They should be allowed to consume the alcoholic beverages with their classmates without having to worry about getting in trouble. Eighteen year olds are adults and should be able to make their own decision on whether or not they want to drink.

Read More
258 Words | 2 Pages

First reason the drinking age should not be lowered to eighteen is because of the obvious health issues. The brain is still developing in an adolescent which not only makes them more vulnerable to the toxic effects of alcohol but can also cause irreversible brain damage. Neuroscientist Susan Tapert conducted a study and compared the brain scans of adolecesents that drank and the scans that didn’t drink, the drinkers “appeared to have a number of little dings throughout their brains ' white matter, indicating poor quality, and poor quality of the brain 's white matter indicates poor, inefficient communication between brain cells. ”(qtd. in Trudeau) Alcohol does the most damage to the frontal lobe which is part of the brain that is responsible for planning, forming ideas, using self control and making decisions.

Read More
1067 Words | 5 Pages

There have been a lot of discussions whether the United States should lower the drinking age from twenty one to eighteen, and it continues to be a discussion around the country. The legal drinking age should not be lowered to eighteen due to the many risks that it involves; from traffic fatalities to lifelong health complications. Unfortunately, millions of people are affected each day by alcohol consumption.

Read More
888 Words | 4 Pages

This is true, but if the minimum legal drinking age is lowered to 18 years old and drinking is only allowed under parental supervision the drinking will be more responsible and will not damage the adolescent brain because the drinking is not severe. Preliminary studies suggest that rats exposed to high levels of alcohol during adolescence may be more sensitive to alcohol-induced memory impairments later in life (White et al., 2000).Although the causes of these long-lasting changes are unclear, they may in some cases involve alcohol-induced injury to the nervous system. In rats, exposure to high amounts of alcohol produces more extensive brain damage in adolescents than adults (Crews et al., 2000). To summarize, supporters of a higher minimum legal drinking age believe that alcohol has adverse affects on the adolescent brain. Although some may believe that a higher legal drinking age is the solution to all of our underage drinking problems, it most definitely is not, the MLDA should be 18 and between 18 and 21 consumption of alcohol is only legal under parental supervision, this is because teens will become more responsible drinkers, it will decrease underage drinking, and the legal age of adulthood is

Read More
675 Words | 3 Pages

Should the drinking age really be lowered? Decreasing the age limit to consume alcohol would create another problem in our society. Drinking at an early age can promote growth problems. Changing the drinking age from 21 to 18 can really affect a high school teen in a negative way. High school teens can face school and social problems like, school absences and lack of participation in youth activities.

Read More
595 Words | 3 Pages

In the 1970s, the drinking age had been lowered to 18, in all 50 states, due to demand and influence by other states. This had increased the drunk driving rate by 30% and during this time, it caused the highest drunk driving accidents in a lot of the American history (Issues & Controversies). This isn’t something that needs or wants to be repeated by lowering the drinking age once again. To start, one reason to not lower the drinking age is it could increase the chances of drug use. If the MLDA was lowered from 21 to 18 it would cause people to irresponsibly drink in nightclubs, not be as safe when in this environment, and could also easily increase the risk of drug use (Procon).

Read More
1336 Words | 6 Pages

Drinking age - Lower it? The minimum legal drinking age(MLDA) has been perhaps the single most studied alcohol-control policy. Since 1984, the National minimum legal drinking age in the United States has been 21 years. However, Alex was only 18 years old the night he died in a fatal car crash.

Read More
1834 Words | 8 Pages

Over the years, there have been debates about lowering the drinking age in the United States to eighteen. People argue that if a person can fight in the military or vote in elections, then he or she should be allowed the right to drink alcohol. Others feel that it is not wise to lower the legal drinking age because the results would be dangerous. Although there are arguments for lowering the drinking age, there is also an abundance of research that proves lowering the drinking age would be destructive. The legal drinking age should not be lowered to eighteen because it will give high school and even middle school students greater access to alcohol, interfere with brain development, adult rights begin at twenty-one, and increase traffic accidents among the youth.

Read More
751 Words | 4 Pages

31% of road accident deaths in America are due to alcohol, whereas in Germany, with a legal drinking age of 16, 9% of road accident deaths are due to alcohol (McCarthy). Could a lower minimum drinking age be beneficial for the US? After prohibition was repealed in 1933, states were allowed to set their own minimum legal drinking age. Some states set theirs at 21 and others 18 to 20. A few decades later, the government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984 which allowed the government to reduce highway funding to states that chose to keep their MLDA below 21.

Read More
786 Words | 4 Pages

Lowering the drinking age in the United States has been an ongoing debate since the National Minimum Drinking Age law passed in 1984, requiring someone to be 21 years of age to drink or purchase alcohol. The bill was thought of by Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) and was eventually set into a law by President Ronald Reagan. The main stand point of this law is to lower Drinking and Driving accidents, but the law and people for the law do not see other effects of one of the highest minimum drinking ages in the world. Lowering the minimum drinking age can offset binge drinking, alcoholism, and so much more.

Read More
943 Words | 4 Pages

In these past few years more and more people are leaning towards lowering the drinking age, yet there are still many that disagree and want the age of twenty one to remain the legal age to consume alcohol. In 1984 the United States Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act that changed the drinking age from eighteen to twenty one. Many of the states did not agree with this act and planned on keeping their legal drinking age at 18, until congress passed the Federal Aid Highway act, which states that if the drinking age in that state was under twenty one, they would lose almost 10 percent of their funding for highway public transportation. Throughout the United States thousands of citizens consume alcohol. Even if the legal drinking age is 21, minors will still consume it illegally.

Read More
612 Words | 3 Pages

Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (NMDA) on July 17, 1984. This act pressured states to change the legal drinking age to 21. The act stated that states refusing to lower the age would receive a 10% decrease in government funding for roads and highways. No state would want to lose 10% of their income for not changing the drinking age and congress knew this. So with this statement congress knew that they could persuade every state to change their drinking age even if the state was against it.

Read More
1070 Words | 5 Pages

Lowering the drinking age: risky or safe? When teenagers turn 18, they are told that they are adults and are sent into the world. They go to college, get a job, marry or join the military. They do grown-up things like vote, pay taxes and become parents, but they can 't go to the bar for a beer.

Read More
903 Words | 4 Pages

Why drinking age should be lowered? If one is considered an adult at age eighteen in most of the country, are they not allowed to purchase and legally consume alcohol? The minimum legal drinking age needs to be lowered, and not just for that reason. The amount of teenagers with drinking problems and alcoholism is far greater than in Europe, where drinking ages are far lower. Also, studies show that the current minimum age drinking laws have been ineffective to a high degree.

Read More

More about Essay On Minimum Legal Drinking Age

Related Topics

Open Document